Each winter I travel to Japan
for the purpose of harvesting and otherwise acquiring bamboo. Of special
interest is a supply very old old madaké of exceptional
quality for shakuhachi that I had the good fortune to came upon during a recent
visit. This madaké was the complete stash of bamboo belonging to a retiring shakuhachi
maker in Osaka. Noticing that each culm had a small piece of newspaper stuffed
into the top to retard the drying process, my wife Kayo removed one of these
scraps of newsprint to discover that the date imprinted on it was 1968. Selecting
several other pieces
at
random
revealed
that
this
bamboo
had
been
cured
for 40+ years. This is quite unique as many shakuhachi
in Japan today are made
with
bamboo
cured for only one or two years. The advantage
of this aged bamboo is that it has been around for this long without cracking.
The
patina of this madaké is
quite beautiful and the material very hard.

The date on the newpaper pictured is Showa 45, Shigatsu Ju
San Nichi (April, 13, 1970)